Raymond James Cuts Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) Price Target to $58.00

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Free Report) had its price target trimmed by Raymond James from $65.00 to $58.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Webster Financial from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, January 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Webster Financial from $75.00 to $66.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group initiated coverage on Webster Financial in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Webster Financial from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Webster Financial from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $62.92.

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Webster Financial Price Performance

Shares of Webster Financial stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $42.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,166,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,249,087. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. Webster Financial has a 12-month low of $39.34 and a 12-month high of $63.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $54.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.67. The company has a market cap of $7.26 billion, a PE ratio of 9.69, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.05.

Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. Webster Financial had a net margin of 18.39% and a return on equity of 10.82%. The business had revenue of $661.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $687.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.46 EPS. Analysts expect that Webster Financial will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Webster Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th were issued a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.78%. Webster Financial's payout ratio is 36.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John R. Ciulla sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.43, for a total transaction of $459,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 210,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,228.93. This trade represents a 3.67 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Laurence C. Morse sold 13,217 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.07, for a total value of $780,728.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,808 shares in the company, valued at $1,110,988.56. This trade represents a 41.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Webster Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Webster Financial by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,493,426 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $469,007,000 after acquiring an additional 99,908 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Webster Financial by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,320,930 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $341,229,000 after purchasing an additional 333,606 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Webster Financial by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,620,818 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $365,601,000 after buying an additional 45,310 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Webster Financial by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,130,379 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $228,000,000 after buying an additional 35,039 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in Webster Financial by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 3,154,160 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $174,173,000 after acquiring an additional 116,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.58% of the company's stock.

About Webster Financial

Webster Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Webster Bank, National Association that provides a range of financial products and services to individuals, families, and businesses in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, HSA Bank, and Consumer Banking.